The crazy thing was, in 2003, with Jay Z’s new “thing” being The Black Album was his final release ever, this claim seemed like anything but a reach.

50 Cent, 10 years ago, held Willy Wonka’s golden Hip-Hop ticket. Co-signs by Eminem and Dr. Dre all but guaranteed Fif could do whatever he damn well pleased with no fear of repercussions. Get Rich Or Die Tryin was selling faster than it could be kept on shelves. The other members of G-Unit were becoming recognizable stars on their own. And along with The Diplomats, 50 was still very much embedded in a New York City mixtape culture he helped define in the early 2000s.

“It’s no contest I’m the coldest from the East
Niggas mad I’m doin’ good so I wake up to new beef
Niggas sayin’ ‘I knew 50 back when he was Boo’
‘When he used to pump crack on Guy Brew’
‘Before he blew’
Then when they come through
Sayin’ what’s up I’m like ‘Who are you?’
We ain’t ever made no money together then we ain’t cool…”

His “Dipset Anthem Freestyle” ranks as a personal non-GRODT standout from the year Curtis Jackson officially left the projects in Southside Jamaica Queens in his rearview for good.

The brief MP3 was everything riding for 50 during said time period was about. Close to whatever buddy touched – a mixtape, freestyle, guest appearance – was enough to tear a room apart in search of a blank CD. To go along with that sort of consumer confidence, Curtis wasn’t yet mega-successful enough that his street talk still held a healthy dose of authenticity. Plus, no rapper on the planet was better at injecting their own musical DNA in industry instrumentals and totally giving a record a completely new identity than Ja Rule’s BFF.

Granted, that didn’t happen here. Topping what Juelz and Cam did to the original is seven shades of impossible. But, like Barry Bonds stepping into a batter’s box in 2003, paying attention to see what Bonds/50 could pull off next was taken for granted.

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Oh man…. I remember sitting at the lunch table in 9th grade an glancing over at this rican chick. I was only going to do the typical “Side glance ass look” but, I seen something else. The chick was just holding a empty “Get Rich or Die Trying” CD case. Just the case. I know it was because there was NO other reason for her to bring a CD to school. Especially since you couldn’t listen to a CD player while your learning math.

That’s when I knew the 50 buzz had reach levels I had not see before. Now, mind you Em during the “Marshall Mathers LP” heat was I think the first type a Rapper had a buzz on that level but, I was way too deep in WWF (Not wwe. Kill that noise) back then so, I miss out on all of that but, I was able to look back on Youtube an seen clips of Em during that time an I could still feel how much of a impact it was.

I used to drive my moms min van blasting Rotten Apple and Thicker than Water on my way to summer school to ig’nant levels going dumb. Dude could have put out a blank disc at that time and it would’ve sold.

I was in highschool back in Kenya when GRODT came out and I’m telling you EVERYONE was buying bootleg copies of everything related to 50. His clothing somehow got there so quick and you had street vendors selling those big ass(Back when wearing XXL shirts was cool) G-Unit T’s to all of us kids. I’m a huge Em stan so 2000-2004 was an incredible time for me musically.

Also, can ya’ll believe at one point Lloyd Banks, and Buck went Platinum?

You guys do good work on here but it completely takes away from a story when you don’t fact check before you release something to the public. 50 is not from Queensbridge Projects. He is from Southside.

I was fortunate enough to get to work with 50 before things started to collapse, but missed working with him when I first really wanted to… because he got shot. The label sent me “Thug Love” and I remember calling every program director I knew to tell them to be on the lookout for it. I still have the reference mix of that song.

His getting shot actually put him in the right direction. Tone & Poke would have worked… but later on in his career (he ended up making records in the same vein). But he never would have been the 50 he was had he never been shot.

I remember being sent “How to Rob” and I went bananas man. This dude was saying things in a comedic manner, but was going at any and everyone, and it was the truth. His flow was ridiculous, his voice unique, he was lyrical. Then when I heard Columbia let him go, I, man… people know the story. He ended up exactly where he was supposed to wind up. Sometimes that happens and I have to accept it.

He completely changed the game. “Wanksta” had me smiling every time it played – how hard of a record was that? How many quotables does that record have? “In da Club” and “21 Questions” too – anyone who listened to 50 at that time may not have been able to quote any other rapper’s lyrics… but anyone could quote a 50 song. He made hits – hard hits.

With my being around Dre and Em (and Interscope artists in general) so much, I am not quite certain why it took so long for us to link. It is sad how they are doing him, but that is the industry. And once you become known more for your beef and antics than your music… that is what happens. Em is still going strong – he evolved from a rapper taking shots at other artists to one who went back to simply showcasing his gift – being an absolute lyrical beast. Dre can get Interscope and the industry in general to do anything he wants – including waiting indefinitely for an album, as he has adapted in so many different ways as well. Business wise, Curtis is as smart as they come. But he made mistakes, musically – and ironically, it was tactical strategy that ruined everything.

TRA from your insider perspective how did 50 self-destruct his music career? From an outsider’s perspective it looked like over-exposure, he was flooding the market with too much G-Unit material until it became the new normal and lost all exclusivity. Also trying to acquire MOP, and Mobb Deep didn’t help things either in my eyes. This is something I’ve actually always wanted to know.

Saturation was a huge miscalculation – no way he should have signed all of those artists. You are really not a label – you are one man (because 50 always closely controlled his operations). That is too much for one person – I do not care who you are.

But when he started beefin’ ALL of the time, people stopped focusing on the music he was making. His music also changed as well but what can you expect when someone goes from broke… to a million… to hundreds of millions? You have to have a plan (i.e. Jay). Cannot keep rapping about the things you once did – fans want to believe what you write in the Hip-Hop genre – even if it is fiction (see Rick Ross).

He also (and this is in my opinion only), stopped picking good beats. In the instances he rapped about reality (having money) and picked great production (“I Get Money”)… he was back to a hit.